In 1931, Toronto's Jews could be found in areas as varied as the stalls of squawking chickens and vegetable vendors in Kensington Market and grand houses in far north Forest Hill. Over the course of the 1930s and 1940s, they were transformed into an organized and cohesive community. Imposing Their Will examines the achievements of Toronto's Jewish community leaders and the organizational infrastructure they established during the volatile years of the Depression and the Second World War.

Showing how issues such as immigration restrictions, poverty, anti-Semitism, and the Holocaust contributed to cooperation between institutions and individuals, Jack Lipinsky provides compelling insights into the formation of one of the world's great Jewish communities. He studies the re-emergence of the Canadian Jewish Congress, the establishment of the Toronto Free Hebrew School, the rise of professionalism in the various philanthropic organisations, and traces the community's shift away from the influence of Montreal.

An illuminating look at the growth and strength of a community, Imposing Their Will provides valuable new ways to understand Canadian Jewry, the diaspora, ethnic governance, and the development of Canadian multiculturalism.